Tuesday, January 6, 2015

I've always loved reading birth stories and I always love looking back on life. I started this blog several years ago as a journal and way to meet some new mamas that were in similar seasons of life as me. I met SO many people all over the world and its really a special thing.

Ruby, our precious daughter arrived on December 28th, 2014. She was 4 days "overdue" and still our little peanut. Not going to lie... It was EXTRA hard to be patient this time waiting. With the holidays & the unknowns it was for sure a faith test for me. I'm thankful for his grace!!

Here's how Ruby's birth story goes...

I had a lot of prayer requests going into labor with her. I really wanted a different experience from our son Jude. His birth wasn't bad or traumatic or anything like that it just seemed like things COULD have gone different (recovery & breast-feeding specifically).

My main prayer was that I would "feel prepared". I didn't know how it would be if I was screaming in labor... Trying to pack Jude (our toddler) up & get myself to the hospital. Ha, dramatic much? Well thankfully, it was a very relaxing morning when it all happened. Josh was on Christmas break and all was well in the world.

Sunday morning at 6:55am I woke up to use the bathroom (for the 10th time that night) & felt something different/noticed lots of blood AND felt a gush when I stood up. This "gush" was similar to how it felt when my water broke with Jude. It's always funny to me how movies display water breaking because everyone can be SO different. I wasn't 100% sure that it was my water but called the on-call midwife & then jumped in the shower (wanted to be prepared!!) I woke Josh up and told him to get ready... This could for sure be it!!

My midwife wanted to bring me in to monitor baby girl because of the amount of blood, etc. I also told her about the "gush" and how I wanted to be checked to see if it was my water. She agreed.

We got completely ready, bags packed and just in time for jude to wake up by 8:15 a.m. ... Got him in the car and we were off to my parents house. They all were so excited & especially since we had our family from Seattle in town visiting and wanting to be here for Ruby's big debut!

We didn't want to get our hopes up in case today wasn't the day (because I wasn't having consistent contractions... only irregular braxton hicks and a few mild, real ones) but I also felt hopeful. As we drove we prayed, texted family to keep them updated & got some breakfast.

9:30am we were in a triage room monitoring Ruby and my contractions no had progressed to 2cm dilated which was good progress but we were still waiting on the results of the test determining if it was my water. They threw out the idea of being induced that day if we wanted but I first wanted confirmed answer on the test. I really wanted to go naturally.

5 minutes later the nurse came back... "POSITIVE" she said. It was my water... and we were going to meet Ruby that very day! We are so excited and couldn't beleive it. 40 weeks, 4 days waiting for this very moment. Seemed surreal.

After walking for a bit to see if contractions would pickup we decided to begin pitocin to get the show on the road... this was around 1:30 p.m. It was GO-time. My mama and sister arrived and we were ready. I am so thankful for them both being a part of this experience.

All smiles in between contractions ;). Things progresed... I was checked a few times and was at 4-5 cm and Ruby starting to get more in position for delivery. By 5pm I was at 7cm and getting VERY tired. I hit a wall. They gave me the IV fluid in preps for the BELOVED epidural. I was going to labor for one more hour and see if I made any progress.

My midwife checked me again at 6pm and I hadn't made any progress in dilation even after having INTENSE contractions every 30 seconds... I was frustrated but knew this was the time to rest. Soon it was going to be pushing time, wanting to cuddle my sweet new baby girl & family coming to visit. I made the best decision ever to get the epidural. By 7pm, I was resting - the pitocin was doing it's thing and I was able to sleep through the contractions. So nice!

By 9pm I felt a crazy amount of pressure and was ready to push. I just knew it was time!! My midwife wasn't so sure and didn't believe me... but I was ready! She checked me and yep, I was complete. 10cm! PUSHING TIME!

9:15 I began to push. It always is such a crazy thing to me... this whole process. This time however, it was MUCH more relaxed than with Jude. My midwife was just sitting comfortably on the base of the bed ... there was NO bright lights. It was peaceful. I held my legs up with the help of my sister and husband and we just started to push with a contraction. I think it was a total of 7 times pushing...

THEN RUBY ARRIVED!

9:33 p.m.

I was able to "catch" her as my midwife said, "Reach down and grab your daughter!" OH MY GOSH! It was the coolest feeling in the entire world.

Seeing her face for the first time... was... priceless. One of those moments in life I will never, ever forget. The second is seeing Josh's face seeing her for the first time. :)

WE DID IT!!!

A little peanut... I knew it from the minute I held her. She was tiny!

6lb 14oz

Our lives are forever changed. SO thankful!

I was so happy to know I didn't tear as bad as I had with Jude. That was a HUGE concern for me with recovery and all of that. I think it was accredited to the fact that she was MUCH smaller, but also my amazing midwife and the whole relaxed process of delivery.

We couldn't wait for Jude to meet his baby sister. I nursed her (she did great!) and then got her cleaned up, we changed into our matching robes and Jude was able to come in. So exciting!

Bringing his "big brother" gift for Ruby!

He was SO in love. Smitten.

Here's a little clip of the first meeting. Melt my heart in a million pieces!

OUR FAMILY OF FOUR! :)

All of our family was in the lobby anxious to meet this sweet baby girl. What a joy to have them all there! :) I couldn't wait to show her off!

My favorite image! All the grandparents... PRICELESS!

More cuddles from Jude. He couldn't get enough... he had been waiting and waiting for this moment.

Phew! What a whirwind... it was such a fun and exciting time! I loved how everything went. It was a dream to think that God gave us a GIRL. We stayed in the hospital for 2 nights since her 24-hour screening wasn't until late in the evening on her first night and it was like -13 degrees outside. BRRR... I didn't want to bring her home in the pitch black. Ha

We left for home on the morning of December 30th and were anxious to pickup Jude. He wanted Ruby to "come home" with him he kept saying. SO precious!!

Ruby passed all her tests, checks & was 6lb 7oz when we left the hospital. Perfect in every way! God IS so good. I couldn't NOT believe in him after going through this process once and again now with Ruby. Babies are a miracle. Such an amazing blessing to be given this priceless gift!!

A few more sneak peeks from our lifestyle newborn session...

BIRTH STORY PHOTOS: www.sarahpolliophotography.com

LIFESTYLE PHOTOS: www.angelicjewelphotography.com

(So thankful for these ladies, especially Sarah my best friend for being there during my labor/delivery! A true friend!!!)

Thursday, August 7, 2014

We are HALFWAY with our sweet Ruby Rae. Wow, it really feels like it is going so much faster this time. Our little girlie is growing & starting to move lots and lots. She is going to be a mover like her big brother, Jude.Like I always say... she is a gift to us. I can't wait to kiss her little cheeks. :)

Jude Is: Still making us laugh like crazy. He is now sleeping in "Rooey's Crib"... since we started on his big boy room. He hasn't officially slept in it yet, we are still finishing it. He's full of life, energy & so many funny things to say. What a perfect big brother he will be for Ruby!!

What I’m looking forward to:Seeing her face! I love envisioning what she will look like, smell like. I just crave the newborn snuggles and know life will get crazy come December when she arrives but I am going to embrace it. I am already praying for God to give me balance with our sweet Jude too!

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

I type this in joy & happiness... we found out we are blessed with a baby GIRL on the way. It is really an amazing gift. :) I am trying to keep up on bump-dates... since baby #2 can get easily not get as much attention. I am determined to not make it that way with our sweet Ruby girl.

Movement: Yes, started feeling flutters 2 weeks ago. I love that it's only inside me that I can feel... special for Ruby and I. I love the big kicks too! That will be fun!

Sleep: Pretty good. I wake up from 3-4am every morning so that's a little annoying but I use it as time to pray! :)

What I miss: Nothing much besides deli meat. I sometimes cheat ;)

Food Cravings: I crave peaches... peanut butter and boneless buffalo wings... honey bbq. Similar craving to when I was pregnant with Jude. I'm just not AS hungry like 3x a day, but hungry more often... :)

Food Aversions: Nothing too bad! Eggs were a little rough a few weeks back, but I am good now!

Symptoms: 2nd Trimester is so happy for me! I'm not AS tired and don't need to nap with Jude in the afternoons. Still get tired in the evening, but thankful for a full day without a nap!

Jude Is: Such a funny boy. Loves saying "Roo-ey" (his version of Ruby). He still thinks baby is a "boy" but I think he does that to get a laugh out of us. We are working on potty training :/ Crazy kid!! He is loving summer and having daddy home! :)

What I’m looking forward to:Growing & continuing to tell Jude about his sister. We talk about her all the time, it's really quite special. He always says he wants her to come "out" and I explain she is not done growing yet. We have a 20 week ultrasound coming up which will be super fun to see how big she has gotten! I love seeing her sweet little profile. :)

Sunday, July 6, 2014

I'm still a bit in shock. What an amazing gift to be carrying life and the little girl we have been praying for. Since Josh and I went on this "parenthood" journey we have been praying for our Ruby girl.

I remember many months back during some pretty hard days standing in the target baby aisle finding ruby red shoes and crying. My heart was so heavy for another baby but specifically a girl. I bought these $8 pair of Ruby red slippers and kept them by our beside. I felt like in that moment God promised me the gift of a daughter... Someday.

After finding out we were pregnant - I sobbed of course. I remembered the Ruby slipper moment. Knowing that promise from God, it was still uncertain if this child was that promise.

Fast forward... Two days ago... In the SAME Target aisle. Sobbing again with the realization of KNOWING we were granted the gift of a daughter. I'm not sure words can express how blessed we feel. (I wanted to explain to everyone that passed me at Target as I had this moment... ;))

It was a joy to share the news with our family and friends yesterday at our annual red, white & blue party! Such a fun time revealing the "secret". I'm really so thankful for a network of supportive people in our lives. Rejoice with those who rejoice!!!

In light of the 4th of July we lit RED/PINK smoke bombs! :)

Fireworks too!

We cherish our "people" so very much!

Jude still thinks Mama is having a BOY but we have still have a few months to convince him otherwise. ;)

Thank you sweet Jesus for this gift... Bring on the PINK, headbands, glitter & all things girly-girl. :)

Friday, June 6, 2014

Writing this is still a bit surreal... If you haven't seen our anncouement yet :) Here it is:

We are expecting our 2nd child. I am humbled and in tears writing this. It has been a long journey this time around. When I say "long" I am in the context of almost 1 1/2 years. I don't want to compare to anyone else's story. I don't want anyone reading this who may be currently struggling to loose hope. I want you to gain encouragement. I've been there. Josh and I were diagnoised with "Secondary Infertility"...

It hasn't been a "public" thing and it has been something close family & friends are aware of. We believe in the power of prayer, but it is also a private matter and something that God was working on in each of us.

Infertility has many faces. I don't know if you may currently be or in the midst of this struggle or maybe struggled in the past with this journey. It is such an emotional roller coaster from month to month and we've been there. Maybe you haven't struggled with infertility and Praise be to God... That's not part of your story. We all have a story. We all have unique struggles that God uses for HIS glory!

This is our story. This is our testimony of how our GOD IS ABLE. He who promised is faithful. He has been faithful to us time and time again in our marriage & parenthood. Currently, I am almost 12 weeks and it is maybe "easier" to type this post because I'm on the other side... but it is still a very real struggle that we dealt with.

Let me bring you back... Jude turned ONE! He is our pride & joy. We love him with everything! Jude took 8 months to conceive and as someone with a desire from childhood to be a Mama... that was F-O-R-E-V-E-R. We learned a lot of patience and God's timing in that, however that timeline is pretty "normal".

Back to his first birthday, we had already began starting to try for Baby #2. My sister and I are super close in age (only 15 months apart actually). Soooo... naturally, I thought this was what I wanted for our little family.

Months passed and we hit the 10 month "trying" mark. I felt uneasy in my spirit. I knew something was up and Josh agreed. We sought medical help through a fertility clinic and realized through a lot of appointment... consultations... questionnaires... etc. that we were struggling with Secondary Infertility. The diagnosis became something treatable which made the sting a little less intense. It was still a journey and still unknown - but we at least had some answers.

Through a small, non-invasive procedure Josh had in February we were really hopeful! And two SHORT months later, God blessed us with conceiving the very month Jude turned TWO. :) It was really humbling and hard to seek medical help.

We believed God would bless us in his timing with a child.
Yet, there was action on OUR part that needed to take place.
It was humbling & so good for us to realize we had options. What a gift!

I really felt strongly we were going to have a 2014 baby... and here we are ... THE VERY END OF December, 2014 we are due. Christmas Eve. Christmas Miracle.

Let's just stop and take that in for a minute. God who promised... is FAITHFUL. Time and Time again. I doubted, I cried my eyes out & I had bitterness. Yet, HE came through. He is Able. For me, and he's ABLE for you. Wherever you are at, whatever you are struggling with.

We so desire for our testimony to be an encouragement for others!!

Pleases be encouraged today.

There is so much more to our story... I didn't want to write for days and days ;) If you are in this season or need prayer please email me: ria.thurston@gmail.com - I would love to share more and encourage you if you are struggling to conceive - I am praying for you.

This struggle is so, so hard. It is not talked about a lot and it is something really "private". You are seen. God knows your heartbreak. He knows you are struggling and wants to be your everything. I can't say - it's easy or that "it will happen".... because I had heard that too many times. I can say, it's a trusting thing & part of your unique story. He's writing it right now, just hang tight friend... The chapters will soon turn into pages & you will look back and see the beauty.

About Me

I am a twenty-something Wife and Mama to our sweet son, Jude! He entered our life after almost 41 weeks on April 2nd, 2012. Such a wonderful baby!! What a journey wifehood is and Motherhood! .... I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING! We love Jesus with all we are and know his ways are higher than ours! Come along for the ride... learning what it means to live Life as a Wife & Mama!